Cooperative interactions of RNA and thiostrepton antibiotic with two domains of ribosomal protein L11

Structural basis for contrasting activities of ribosome binding thiazole antibiotics

Thiostrepton and micrococcin inhibit protein synthesis by binding to the L11 binding domain (L11BD) of 23S ribosomal RNA. The two compounds are structurally related, yet they produce different effects on ribosomal RNA in footprinting experiments and on elongation factor-G (EF-G)-dependent GTP hydrolysis. Using NMR and an assay based on A1067 methylation by thiostrepton-resistance methyltransferase, we show that the related thiazoles, nosiheptide and siomycin, also bind to this region. The effect of all four antibiotics on EF-G-dependent GTP hydrolysis and EF-G-GDP-ribosome complex formation was studied. Our NMR and biochemical data demonstrate that thiostrepton, nosiheptide, and siomycin share a common profile, which differs from that of micrococcin. We have generated a three-dimensional (3D) model for the interaction of thiostrepton with L11BD RNA. The model rationalizes the differences between micrococcin and the thiostrepton-like antibiotics interacting with L11BD.

Site of functional interaction of release factor 1 with the ribosome

Ribosomal protein L11 consists of a C-terminal and an N-terminal domain. To determine the importance of each domain for interaction with release factor 1, which works specifically at the UAG termination codon, we constructed Escherichia coli strains lacking either the entire L11 protein or just the N-terminal portion. Strains lacking L11 exhibited UAG suppression, defective growth, and high-temperature lethality, phenotypes that were reversed by expression of L11 protein from a plasmid. Strains lacking only the N-terminal portion of L11 grew well at physiological temperatures and survived at high temperature, but they were defective in UAG-dependent termination. Our results show for the first time that it is precisely the N-terminal part of ribosomal protein L11 that is required for the functional interaction of release factor 1 with the ribosome in the cell.

Ribosomal proteins at the stalk region modulate functional rRNA structures in the GTPase center

Replacement of the L10.L7/L12 protein complex and L11 in Escherichia coli ribosomes with the respective rat counterparts P0.P1/P2 and eukaryotic L12 causes conversion of ribosomal specificity for elongation factors from prokaryotic elongation factor (EF)-Tu/EF-G to eukaryotic EF (eEF)-1alpha/eEF-2. Here we have investigated the effects of protein replacement on the structure and function of two rRNA domains around positions 1070 and 2660 (sarcin/ricin loop) of 23 S rRNA. Protein replacement at the 1070 region in E. coli 50 S subunits was demonstrated by chemical probing analysis. Binding of rat proteins to the 1070 region caused increased accessibility of the 2660 and 1070 regions to ligands for eukaryotic ribosomes: the ribotoxin pepocin for the 2660 region (E. coli numbering), anti-28 S autoantibody for the 1070 region, and eEF-2 for both regions. Moreover, binding of the E. coli L10.L7/L12 complex and L11 to the 1070 region was shown to be responsible for E. coli ribosomal accessibility to another ribotoxin, gypsophilin. Ribosomal proteins at the 1070 region appear to modulate the structures and functions of the 2660 and 1070 RNA regions in slightly different modes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

New inhibitors of bacterial protein synthesis from a combinatorial library of macrocycles

A mixture-based combinatorial library of 14-membered macrocycles was synthesized to target ribosomal RNA and uncover a new class of antibacterial agents. High-throughput screening identified a macrocyclic mixture that inhibited cell-free-coupled transcription/translation in Escherichia coli-derived extracts, with an IC(50) value in the 25-50 microM range. In a follow-up library of 64 single macrocycles, 8 gave IC(50) values ranging from 12 to 50 microM in the cell-free protein synthesis inhibition assay. Some of the macrocycles were screened in a translation inhibition assay, and IC(50) values generally paralleled those obtained in the uncoupled transcription/translation assay. Additional analogues were prepared in a preliminary structure-activity relationship study, and more potent macrocycles were identified with low micromolar activity (IC(50) values = 2-3 microM). Some of these macrocycles displayed antibacterial activity against lipopolysaccharide mutant E. coli bacterial cells (IC(50) values = 12-50 microM).

Large-scale motions within ribosomal 50S subunits as demonstrated using photolabile oligonucleotides

Photolabile oligonucleotides (PHONTs) bind to rRNA sequences to which they are complementary and, on photolysis, incorporate into neighboring ribosomal components. Here we report on photocrosslinking results obtained with PHONTs targeting 23S rRNA nucleotides 1882-1892, in the long lateral arm of the 50S subunit (PHONT 1892), and 1085-1093, in the L11 binding domain (PHONT 1093). Photolysis of the PHONT 1892.50S and PHONT 1093.50S complexes leads to formation of 'long-range' crosslinks from C1892 to U1094/A1095 and G1950, and from G1093 to U1712/1716 and U1926, that are clearly incompatible with published crystal structures of 50S subunits. These results provide strong evidence that within the 50S subunit (a) the L11 binding domain can extend in an arm-like fashion, accessing large areas of the ribosome, and (b) the lateral arm can bend about the noncanonical helix at its center. Such motions may have functional relevance in identifying regions that undergo major conformational change as the ribosome moves through its catalytic cycle.

The role of the zinc finger motif and of the residues at the amino terminus in the function of yeast ribosomal protein YL37a

YL37a is an essential yeast ribosomal protein that has a C(2)-C(2) zinc finger motif. Replacement of the cysteine residues had yielded variants that lacked the capacity to bind zinc but still supported cell growth. In a continuation of an examination of the relation of the structure of YL37a to its function, the contribution of amino acid residues in the intervening sequence between the internal cysteine residues of the motif was evaluated. Substitutions of alanine for the lysine residues at positions 44, 45, or 48, or for arginine 49 slowed cell growth. The most severe effect was caused by a double-mutation, K48A-R49A. A mutation of tryptophan 55 to alanine was lethal. Mutations to alanine of six conserved residues (K6, K7, K13, Y14, R17, and Y18) in the amino-terminal region decreased cell growth; the Y14 mutation was lethal. An in vitro assay for binding of YL37a to individual 26 S rRNA domains was developed. Binding of the recombinant fusion protein MBP-YL37a was to domains II and III; the K(d) for binding to domain II was 79 nM; for domain III it was 198 nM. There was a close correspondence between the effect of mutations in YL37a on cell growth and on binding to 26 S rRNA. In the atomic structure of the 50 S subunit of Haloarcula marismortui, the archaebacteria homolog of yeast YL37a, L37ae, coordinates a zinc atom and the finger motif is folded and interacts mainly with domain III of 23 S rRNA; whereas the amino-terminal region of L37ae interacts primarily with domain II. The biochemical and genetic experiments complement the three-dimensional structure and define for the first time the functional importance of a subset of the residues in close proximity to nucleotides.

Mutations in the GTPase center of Escherichia coli 23S rRNA indicate release factor 2-interactive sites

Mutations in the GTPase center of Escherichia coli 23S rRNA were characterized in vivo as UGA-specific nonsense suppressors. Some site-directed mutations did not exhibit suppressor activity and were interspersed among suppressor mutations. Our results demonstrate the involvement of the two adjacent loops of this conserved rRNA structure in UGA-dependent translation termination and, taken with previous in vitro analyses and with consideration of the crystal structure of the GTPase center RNA, indicate that nucleotides 1067, 1093, 1094, and 1095 are sites of interaction with release factor 2.

Involvement of the N terminus of ribosomal protein L11 in regulation of the RelA protein of Escherichia coli

Amino acid-deprived rplK (previously known as relC) mutants of Escherichia coli cannot activate (p)ppGpp synthetase I (RelA) and consequently exhibit relaxed phenotypes. The rplK gene encodes ribosomal protein L11, suggesting that L11 is involved in regulating the activity of RelA. To investigate the role of L11 in the stringent response, a derivative of rplK encoding L11 lacking the N-terminal 36 amino acids (designated 'L11) was constructed. Bacteria overexpressing 'L11 exhibited a relaxed phenotype, and this was associated with an inhibition of RelA-dependent (p)ppGpp synthesis during amino acid deprivation. In contrast, bacteria overexpressing normal L11 exhibited a typical stringent response. The overexpressed 'L11 was incorporated into ribosomes and had no effect on the ribosome-binding activity of RelA. By several methods (yeast two-hybrid, affinity blotting, and copurification), no direct interaction was observed between the C-terminal ribosome-binding domain of RelA and L11. To determine whether the proline-rich helix of L11 was involved in RelA regulation, the Pro-22 residue was replaced with Leu by site-directed mutagenesis. The overexpression of the Leu-22 mutant derivative of L11 resulted in a relaxed phenotype. These results indicate that the proline-rich helix in the N terminus of L11 is involved in regulating the activity of RelA.

Translational repression of the Escherichia coli alpha operon mRNA: importance of an mRNA conformational switch and a ternary entrapment complex

Ribosomal protein S4 represses synthesis of the four ribosomal proteins (including itself) in the Escherichia coli alpha operon by binding to a nested pseudoknot structure that spans the ribosome binding site. A model for the repression mechanism previously proposed two unusual features: (i) the mRNA switches between conformations that are "active" or "inactive" in translation, with S4 as an allosteric effector of the inactive form, and (ii) S4 holds the 30 S subunit in an unproductive complex on the mRNA ("entrapment"), in contrast to direct competition between repressor and ribosome binding ("displacement"). These two key points have been experimentally tested. First, it is found that the mRNA pseudoknot exists in an equilibrium between two conformers with different electrophoretic mobilities. S4 selectively binds to one form of the RNA, as predicted for an allosteric effector; binding of ribosomal 30 S subunits is nearly equal in the two forms. Second, we have used S4 labeled at a unique cysteine with either of two fluorophores to characterize its interactions with mRNA and 30 S subunits. Equilibrium experiments detect the formation of a specific ternary complex of S4, mRNA pseudoknot, and 30 S subunits. The existence of this ternary complex is unambiguous evidence for translational repression of the alpha operon by an entrapment mechanism.

Localization of L11 protein on the ribosome and elucidation of its involvement in EF-G-dependent translocation

L11 protein is located at the base of the L7/L12 stalk of the 50 S subunit of the Escherichia coli ribosome. Because of the flexible nature of the region, recent X-ray crystallographic studies of the 50 S subunit failed to locate the N-terminal domain of the protein. We have determined the position of the complete L11 protein by comparing a three-dimensional cryo-EM reconstruction of the 70 S ribosome, isolated from a mutant lacking ribosomal protein L11, with the three-dimensional map of the wild-type ribosome. Fitting of the X-ray coordinates of L11-23 S RNA complex and EF-G into the cryo-EM maps combined with molecular modeling, reveals that, following EF-G-dependent GTP hydrolysis, domain V of EF-G intrudes into the cleft between the 23 S ribosomal RNA and the N-terminal domain of L11 (where the antibiotic thiostrepton binds), causing the N-terminal domain to move and thereby inducing the formation of the arc-like connection with the G' domain of EF-G. The results provide a new insight into the mechanism of EF-G-dependent translocation.

Quantitative analysis of nucleic acid three-dimensional structures

A new computer program to annotate DNA and RNA three-dimensional structures, MC-Annotate, is introduced. The goals of annotation are to efficiently extract and manipulate structural information, to simplify further structural analyses and searches, and to objectively represent structural knowledge. The input of MC-Annotate is a PDB formatted DNA or RNA three-dimensional structure. The output of MC-Annotate is composed of a structural graph that contains the annotations, and a series of HTML documents, one for each nucleotide conformation and base-base interaction present in the input structure. The atomic coordinates of all nucleotides and the homogeneous transformation matrices of all base-base interactions are stored in the structural graph. Symbolic classifications of nucleotide conformations, using sugar puckering modes and nitrogen base orientations around the glycosyl bond, and base-base interactions, using stacking and hydrogen bonding information, are introduced. Peculiarity factors of nucleotide conformations and base-base interactions are defined to indicate their marginalities with all other examples. The peculiarity factors allow us to identify irregular regions and possible stereochemical errors in 3-D structures without interactive visualization. The annotations attached to each nucleotide conformation include its class, its torsion angles, a distribution of the root-mean-square deviations with examples of the same class, the list of examples of the same class, and its peculiarity value. The annotations attached to each base-base interaction include its class, a distribution of distances with examples of the same class, the list of examples of the same class, and its peculiarity value. The distance between two homogeneous transformation matrices is evaluated using a new metric that distinguishes between the rotation and the translation of a transformation matrix in the context of nitrogen bases. MC-Annotate was used to build databases of nucleotide conformations and base-base interactions. It was applied to the ribosomal RNA fragment that binds to protein L11, which annotations revealed peculiar nucleotide conformations and base-base interactions in the regions where the RNA contacts the protein. The question of whether the current database of RNA three-dimensional structures is complete is addressed.

A Corynebacterium glutamicum mutant with a defined deletion within the rplK gene is impaired in (p)ppGpp accumulation upon amino acid starvation

The rplK gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032 comprises 438 nucleotides and encodes a protein of 145 amino acids with a molecular mass of 15.3 kDa. The amino acid sequence revealed extensive similarities to the large ribosomal subunit protein L11 from several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The C. glutamicum rplK gene is located downstream of secE, representing part of the protein export apparatus, and of nusG, encoding a transcription antiterminator protein. The rplK gene is followed by an ORF homologous to rplA encoding the 50S ribosomal protein L1. Northern analysis revealed that transcription of the rplK-rplA cluster resulted in two different transcripts of 1.5 and 0.6 kb. The 1.5 kb transcript corresponds to the entire rplK-rplA cluster and the short transcript originates from the rplK gene. A C. glutamicum rplK mutant strain carrying a 12 bp in-frame deletion within rplK, which resulted in the loss of the tetrapeptide Pro-Ala-Leu-Gly in the L11 protein, was constructed. The mutant failed to accumulate (p)ppGpp in response to amino acid starvation and exhibited an increased tolerance to the antibiotic thiostrepton. Evidently, the C. glutamicum rplK gene is required for (p)ppGpp accumulation upon nutritional starvation.

Mutations in conserved regions of ribosomal RNAs decrease the productive association of peptide-chain release factors with the ribosome during translation termination

Early studies provided evidence that peptide-chain release factors (RFs) bind to both ribosomal subunits and trigger translation termination. Although many ribosomal proteins have been implicated in termination, very few data present direct biochemical evidence for the involvement of rRNA. Particularly absent is direct evidence for a role of a large subunit rRNA in RF binding. Previously we demonstrated in vitro that mutations in Escherichia coli rRNAs, known to cause nonsense codon readthrough in vivo, reduce the efficiency of RF2-driven catalysis of peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis. This reduction was consistent with the idea that in vivo defective termination at the mutant ribosomes contributes to the readthrough. Nevertheless, other explanations were also possible, because still missing was essential biochemical evidence for that idea, namely, decrease in productive association of RFs with the mutant ribosomes. Here we present such evidence using a new realistic in vitro termination assay. This study directly supports in vivo involvement in termination of conserved rRNA regions that also participate in other translational events. Furthermore, this study provides the first strong evidence for involvement of large subunit rRNA in RF binding, indicating that the same rRNA region interacts with factors that determine both elongation and termination of translation.

A map of protein-rRNA distribution in the 70 S Escherichia coli ribosome

Neutron scattering exploits the enormous scattering difference between protons and deuterons. A set of 42 x-ray and neutron solution scattering curves from hybrid Escherichia coli ribosomes was obtained, where the proteins and rRNA moieties in the subunits were either protonated or deuterated in all possible combinations. This extensive data set is analyzed using a novel method. The volume defined by the cryoelectron microscopic model of Frank and co-workers (Frank, J., Zhu, J., Penczek, P., Li, Y. H., Srivastava, S., Verschoor, A., Radermacher, M., Grassucci, R., Lata, R. K., and Agrawal, R. K. (1995) Nature 376, 441-444) is divided into 7890 densely packed spheres of radius 0.5 nm. Simulated annealing is employed to assign each sphere to solvent, protein, or rRNA moieties to simultaneously fit all scattering curves. Twelve independent reconstructions starting from random approximations yielded reproducible results. The resulting model at a resolution of 3 nm represents the volumes occupied by rRNA and protein moieties at 95% probability threshold and displays 15 and 20 protein subvolumes in the 30 S and 50 S, respectively, connected by rRNA. 17 proteins with known atomic structure can be tentatively positioned into the protein subvolumes within the ribosome in agreement with the results from other methods. The protein-rRNA map enlarges the basis for the models of the rRNA folding and can further help to localize proteins in high-resolution crystallographic density maps.

The RNA-binding domain of ribosomal protein L11 recognizes an rRNA tertiary structure stabilized by both thiostrepton and magnesium ion

Antibiotics that inhibit ribosomal function may do so by one of several mechanisms, including the induction of incorrect RNA folding or prevention of protein and/or RNA conformational transitions. Thiostrepton, which binds to the 'GTPase center' of the large subunit, has been postulated to prevent conformational changes in either the L11 protein or rRNA to which it binds. Scintillation proximity assays designed to look at the binding of the L11 C-terminal RNA-binding domain to a 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) fragment, as well as the ability of thiostrepton to induce that binding, were used to demonstrate the role of Mg(2+), L11 and thio-strepton in the formation and maintenance of the rRNA fragment tertiary structure. Experiments using these assays with both an Escherichia coli rRNA fragment and a thermostable variant of that RNA show that Mg(2+), L11 and thiostrepton all induce the RNA to fold to an essentially identical tertiary structure.

Structure of Hsp15 reveals a novel RNA-binding motif

We have solved the crystal structure of the heat shock protein Hsp15, a newly isolated and very highly inducible heat shock protein that binds the ribosome. Comparison of its structure with those of two RNA-binding proteins, ribosomal protein S4 and threonyl-tRNA synthetase, reveals a novel RNA-binding motif. This newly recognized motif is remarkably common, present in at least eight different protein families that bind RNA. The motif's surface is populated by conserved, charged residues that define a likely RNA-binding site. An intriguing pattern emerges: stress proteins, ribosomal proteins and tRNA synthetases repeatedly share a conserved motif. This may imply a hitherto unrecognized functional similarity between these three protein classes.

Contributions of basic residues to ribosomal protein L11 recognition of RNA

The C-terminal domain of ribosomal protein L11, L11-C76, binds in the distorted minor groove of a helix within a 58 nucleotide domain of 23 S rRNA. To study the electrostatic component of RNA recognition in this protein, arginine and lysine residues have been individually mutated to alanine or methionine residues at the nine sequence positions that are conserved as basic residues among bacterial L11 homologs. In measurements of the salt dependence of RNA-binding, five of these mutants have a reduced value of - partial differentiallog(K(obs))/ partial differentiallog[KCl] as compared to the parent L11-C76 sequence, indicating that these residues interact with the RNA electrostatic field. These five residues are located at the perimeter of the RNA-binding surface of the protein; all five of them form salt bridges with phosphates in the crystal structure of the complex. A sixth residue, Lys47, was found to make an electrostatic contribution to binding when measurements were made at pH 6.0, but not at pH 7.0; its pK in the free protein must be <6.5. The unusual behavior of Lys47 is explained by its burial in the hydrophobic core of the free protein, and unburial in the RNA-bound protein, where it forms a salt bridge with a phosphate. The contributions of these six residues to the electrostatic component of binding are not additive; thus the magnitude of the salt dependence cannot be used to count the number of ionic interactions in this complex. By interacting with irregular features of the RNA backbone, including an S-turn, these basic residues contribute to the specificity of L11 for its target site.

Replacement of L7/L12.L10 protein complex in Escherichia coli ribosomes with the eukaryotic counterpart changes the specificity of elongation factor binding

The L8 protein complex consisting of L7/L12 and L10 in Escherichia coli ribosomes is assembled on the conserved region of 23 S rRNA termed the GTPase-associated domain. We replaced the L8 complex in E. coli 50 S subunits with the rat counterpart P protein complex consisting of P1, P2, and P0. The L8 complex was removed from the ribosome with 50% ethanol, 10 mM MgCl(2), 0.5 M NH(4)Cl, at 30 degrees C, and the rat P complex bound to the core particle. Binding of the P complex to the core was prevented by addition of RNA fragment covering the GTPase-associated domain of E. coli 23 S rRNA to which rat P complex bound strongly, suggesting a direct role of the RNA domain in this incorporation. The resultant hybrid ribosomes showed eukaryotic translocase elongation factor (EF)-2-dependent, but not prokaryotic EF-G-dependent, GTPase activity comparable with rat 80 S ribosomes. The EF-2-dependent activity was dependent upon the P complex binding and was inhibited by the antibiotic thiostrepton, a ligand for a portion of the GTPase-associated domain of prokaryotic ribosomes. This hybrid system clearly shows significance of binding of the P complex to the GTPase-associated RNA domain for interaction of EF-2 with the ribosome. The results also suggest that E. coli 23 S rRNA participates in the eukaryotic translocase-dependent GTPase activity in the hybrid system.

Broad spectrum thiopeptide recognition specificity of the Streptomyces lividans TipAL protein and its role in regulating gene expression

Microbial metabolites isolated in screening programs for their ability to activate transcription of the tipA promoter (ptipA) in Streptomyces lividans define a class of cyclic thiopeptide antibiotics having dehydroalanine side chains ("tails"). Here we show that such compounds of heterogeneous primary structure (representatives tested: thiostrepton, nosiheptide, berninamycin, promothiocin) are all recognized by TipAS and TipAL, two in-frame translation products of the tipA gene. The N-terminal helix-turn-helix DNA binding motif of TipAL is homologous to the MerR family of transcriptional activators, while the C terminus forms a novel ligand-binding domain. ptipA inducers formed irreversible complexes in vitro and in vivo (presumably covalent) with TipAS by reacting with the second of the two C-terminal cysteine residues. Promothiocin and thiostrepton derivatives in which the dehydroalanine side chains were removed lost the ability to modify TipAS. They were able to induce expression of ptipA as well as the tipA gene, although with reduced activity. Thus, TipA required the thiopeptide ring structure for recognition, while the tail served either as a dispensable part of the recognition domain and/or locked thiopeptides onto TipA proteins, thus leading to an irreversible transcriptional activation. Construction and analysis of a disruption mutant showed that tipA was autogenously regulated and conferred thiopeptide resistance. Thiostrepton induced the synthesis of other proteins, some of which did not require tipA.

Crystal structure of a conserved ribosomal protein-RNA complex

The structure of a highly conserved complex between a 58-nucleotide domain of large subunit ribosomal RNA and the RNA-binding domain of ribosomal protein L11 has been solved at 2.8 angstrom resolution. It reveals a precisely folded RNA structure that is stabilized by extensive tertiary contacts and contains an unusually large core of stacked bases. A bulge loop base from one hairpin of the RNA is intercalated into the distorted major groove of another helix; the protein locks this tertiary interaction into place by binding to the intercalated base from the minor groove side. This direct interaction with a key ribosomal RNA tertiary interaction suggests that part of the role of L11 is to stabilize an unusual RNA fold within the ribosome.

A detailed view of a ribosomal active site: the structure of the L11-RNA complex

We report the crystal structure of a 58 nucleotide fragment of 23S ribosomal RNA bound to ribosomal protein L11. This highly conserved ribonucleoprotein domain is the target for the thiostrepton family of antibiotics that disrupt elongation factor function. The highly compact RNA has both familiar and novel structural motifs. While the C-terminal domain of L11 binds RNA tightly, the N-terminal domain makes only limited contacts with RNA and is proposed to function as a switch that reversibly associates with an adjacent region of RNA. The sites of mutations conferring resistance to thiostrepton and micrococcin line a narrow cleft between the RNA and the N-terminal domain. These antibiotics are proposed to bind in this cleft, locking the putative switch and interfering with the function of elongation factors.

The antibiotic micrococcin acts on protein L11 at the ribosomal GTPase centre

Micrococcin-resistant mutants of Bacillus megaterium that carry mutations affecting ribosomal protein L11 have been characterised. The mutants fall into two groups. "L11-minus" strains containing an L11 gene with deletions, insertions or nonsense mutations which grow 2.5-fold slower than the wild-type strain, whereas other mutants carrying single-site substitutions within an 11 amino acid residue segment of the N-terminal domain of L11 grow normally. Protein L11 binds to 23 S rRNA within the ribosomal GTPase centre which regulates GTP hydrolysis on ribosomal factors. Micrococcin binding within the rRNA component of this centre was probed on wild-type and mutant ribosomes, in vivo, using dimethyl sulphate where it generated an rRNA footprint indistinguishable from that produced in vitro, even after the cell growth had been arrested by treatment with either kirromycin or fusidic acid. No drug-rRNA binding was detected in vivo for the L11-minus mutants, while reduced binding (approximately 30-fold) was observed for two single-site mutants P23L and P26L. For the latter, the reduced drug affinity alone did not account for the resistance-phenotype because rapid cell growth occurred even at drug concentrations that would saturate the ribosomes. Micrococcin was also bound to complexes containing an rRNA fragment and wild-type or mutant L11, expressed as fusion proteins, and they were probed with proteinases. The drug produced strong protection effects on the wild-type protein and weak effects on the P23L and P26L mutant proteins. We infer that inhibition of cell growth by micrococcin, as for thiostrepton, results from the imposition of a conformational constraint on protein L11 which, in turn, perturbs the function(s) of the ribosomal factor-guanosine nucleotide complexes.

Structural and functional studies on the overproduced L11 protein from Thermus thermophilus

The L11 ribosomal protein from Thermus thermophilus (TthL11) has been overproduced and purified to homogeneity using a two-step purification protocol. The overproduced protein carries a similar methylation pattern at Lys-3 as does its homolog from Escherichia coli. Chymotrypsin digested only a small part of the TthL11 protein and did not cleave TthL11 into two peptides, as in the case of EcoL11, but produced only a single N-terminal peptide. Tryptic digestion of TthL11 also produced an N-terminal peptide, in contrast to the C-terminal peptide obtained with L11 from Bacillus stearothermophilus. The recombinant protein forms a specific complex with a 55-nt 23S rRNA fragment known to interact with members of the L11 family from several organisms. Cooperative binding of TthL11 and thiostrepton to 23S rRNA leads to an increased protection of TthL11 from tryptic digestion. The similar structural and biochemical properties as well as the significant homology between L11 from E. coli and B. stearothermophilus with the corresponding protein from Thermus thermophilus indicate an evolutionarily conserved protein important for ribosome function.

RNA binding strategies of ribosomal proteins

Structures of a number of ribosomal proteins have now been determined by crystallography and NMR, though the complete structure of a ribosomal protein-rRNA complex has yet to be solved. However, some ribosomal protein structures show strong similarity to well-known families of DNA or RNA binding proteins for which structures in complex with cognate nucleic acids are available. Comparison of the known nucleic acid binding mechanisms of these non-ribosomal proteins with the most highly conserved surfaces of similar ribosomal proteins suggests ways in which the ribosomal proteins may be binding RNA. Three binding motifs, found in four ribosomal proteins so far, are considered here: homeodomain-like alpha-helical proteins (L11), OB fold proteins (S1 and S17) and RNP consensus proteins (S6). These comparisons suggest that ribosomal proteins combine a small number of fundamental strategies to develop highly specific RNA recognition sites.

Structure and dynamics of ribosomal RNA

Over the past two years, progress in X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy and electron microscopy has begun to reveal the complex structure of the RNA within the ribosome. The structures of ribosomal proteins L11 and S15, among others, show how RNA-protein interactions organize the conformation of the junctions between ribosomal RNA helices. Genetic and biochemical methods have also identified a three base-pair switch within the 16S rRNA that is linked to mRNA decoding.

The antibiotic thiostrepton inhibits a functional transition within protein L11 at the ribosomal GTPase centre

A newly identified class of highly thiostrepton-resistant mutants of the archaeon Halobacterium halobium carry a missense mutation at codon 18 within the gene encoding ribosomal protein L11. In the mutant proteins, a proline, conserved in archaea and bacteria, is converted to either serine or threonine. The mutations do not impair either the assembly of the mutant L11 into 70 S ribosomes in vivo or the binding of thiostrepton to ribosomes in vitro. Moreover, the corresponding mutations at proline 22, in a fusion protein of L11 from Escherichia coli with glutathione-S-transferase, did not reduce the binding affinities of the mutated L11 fusion proteins for rRNA of of thiostrepton for the mutant L11-rRNA complexes at rRNA concentrations lower than those prevailing in vivo. Probing the structure of the fusion protein of wild-type L11, from E. coli, using a recently developed protein footprinting technique, demonstrated that a general tightening of the C-terminal domain occurred on rRNA binding, while thiostrepton produced a footprint centred on tyrosine 62 at the junction of the N and C-terminal domains of protein L11 complexed to rRNA. The intensity of this protein footprint was strongly reduced for the mutant L11-rRNA complexes. These results indicate that although, as shown earlier, thiostrepton binds primarily to 23 S rRNA, the drug probably inhibits peptide elongation by impeding a conformational change within protein L11 that is important for the function of the ribosomal GTPase centre. This putative inhibitory mechanism of thiostrepton is critically dependent on proline 18/22. Moreover, the absence of this proline from eukaryotic protein L11 sequences would account for the high thiostrepton resistance of eukaryotic ribosomes.

The RNA binding domain of ribosomal protein L11: three-dimensional structure of the RNA-bound form of the protein and its interaction with 23 S rRNA

The three-dimensional solution structure has been determined by NMR spectroscopy of the 75 residue C-terminal domain of ribosomal protein L11 (L11-C76) in its RNA-bound state. L11-C76 recognizes and binds tightly to a highly conserved 58 nucleotide domain of 23 S ribosomal RNA, whose secondary structure consists of three helical stems and a central junction loop. The NMR data reveal that the conserved structural core of the protein, which consists of a bundle of three alpha-helices and a two-stranded parallel beta-sheet four residues in length, is nearly the same as the solution structure determined for the non-liganded form of the protein. There are however, substantial chemical shift perturbations which accompany RNA binding, the largest of which map onto an extended loop which bridges the C-terminal end of alpha-helix 1 and the first strand of parallel beta-sheet. Substantial shift perturbations are also observed in the N-terminal end of alpha-helix 1, the intervening loop that bridges helices 2 and 3, and alpha-helix 3. The four contact regions identified by the shift perturbation data also displayed protein-RNA NOEs, as identified by isotope-filtered three-dimensional NOE spectroscopy. The shift perturbation and NOE data not only implicate helix 3 as playing an important role in RNA binding, but also indicate that regions flanking helix 3 are involved as well. Loop 1 is of particular interest as it was found to be flexible and disordered for L11-C76 free in solution, but not in the RNA-bound form of the protein, where it appears rigid and adopts a specific conformation as a result of its direct contact to RNA.

Affinities and selectivities of divalent cation binding sites within an RNA tertiary structure

A 58 nucleotide fragment of Escherichia coli large subunit ribosomal RNA, nucleotides 1051 to 1108, adopts a specific tertiary structure normally requiring both monovalent (NH4+ or K+) and divalent (Mg2+) ions to fold; this ion-dependent structure is a prerequisite for recognition by ribosomal protein L11. Melting experiments have been used to show that a sequence variant of this fragment, GACG RNA, is able to adopt a stable tertiary structure in the presence of 1.6 M NH4Cl and absence of divalent ions. The similarity of this high-salt structure to the tertiary structure formed under more typical salt conditions (0.1 M NH4Cl and several mM MgCl2) was shown by its following properties: (i) an unusual ratio of hyperchromicity at 260 nm and 280 nm upon unfolding, (ii) selectivity for NH4+ over K+ or Na+, (iii) stabilization by L11 protein, and (iv) further stabilization by added Mg2+. Delocalized electrostatic interactions of divalent ions with nucleic acids should be very weak in the presence of >1 M monovalent salt; thus stabilization of the tertiary structure by low (<1 mM) Mg2+ concentrations in these high-salt conditions suggests that Mg2+ binds at specific site(s). GACG RNA tertiary structure unfolding in 1.6 M NH4Cl (Tm approximately 39 degrees C) is distinct from melting of the secondary structure (centered at approximately 72 degrees C), and it has been possible to calculate the free energy of tertiary structure stabilization upon addition of various divalent cations. From these binding free energies, ion-RNA binding isotherms for Mn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+ have been obtained. All of these ions bind at two sites: one site favors Mg2+ and Ba2+ and discriminates against Ca2+, while the other site favors binding of smaller ions over larger ones (Mg2+ >Ca2+ >Sr2+ >Ba2+). Weak cooperative or anticooperative interactions between the sites, also dependent on ion radius, may also be taking place.

Binding of mammalian ribosomal protein complex P0.P1.P2 and protein L12 to the GTPase-associated domain of 28 S ribosomal RNA and effect on the accessibility to anti-28 S RNA autoantibody

We have investigated binding of rat ribosomal proteins to the "GTPase domain" of 28 S rRNA and its effect on accessibility to the anti-28 S autoantibody, which recognizes a unique tertiary structure of this RNA domain. Ribosomal protein L12 and P protein complex (P complex) consisting of P0, P1, and P2 both bound to the GTPase domain of rat 28 S rRNA in a buffer containing Mg2. Chemical footprinting analysis of their binding sites revealed that the P complex mainly protected a conserved internal loop region comprising residues 1855-1861 and 1920-1922, whereas L12 protected an adjacent helix region encompassing residues 1867-1878 and 1887-1899. These sites are close to but distinct from the binding site for anti-28 S antibody determined previously. The bindings of P complex and L12 increased the anti-28 S accessibility, as revealed by gel retardation and quantitative immunoprecipitation analyses. In a Mg2+-eliminated condition, the RNA failed to bind to either anti-28 S or L12 but assembled into a complex under their coexistence. However, the RNA retained a property of binding to the P complex even in the absence of Mg2+, and this binding conferred high anti-28 S accessibility. These results indicated that the bindings of the P complex and L12 to their respective sites influenced the GTPase domain to increase the accessibility to anti-28 S. A possible RNA conformation adjusted by the protein bindings is discussed.

High resolution solution structure of ribosomal protein L11-C76, a helical protein with a flexible loop that becomes structured upon binding to RNA

The structure of the C-terminal RNA recognition domain of ribosomal protein L11 has been solved by heteronuclear three-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Although the structure can be considered high resolution in the core, 15 residues between helix alpha 1 and strand beta 1 form an extended, unstructured loop. 15N transverse relaxation measurements suggest that the loop is moving on a picosecond-to-nanosecond time scale in the free protein but not in the protein bound to RNA. Chemical shifts differences between the free protein and the bound protein suggest that the loop as well as the C-terminal end of helix alpha 3 are involved in RNA binding.

The RNA binding domain of ribosomal protein L11 is structurally similar to homeodomains

The RNA binding domain of ribosomal protein L11 is strikingly similar to the homeodomain class of eukaryotic DNA binding proteins: it contains three alpha-helices that superimpose with homeodomain alpha-helices, and some conserved residues required for rRNA recognition align with homeodomain helix III residues contacting DNA bases.